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Caruspan
Caruspan Lawful Evil Large Town (North) Corruption +1; Crime -1; Economy +1; Law +1; Lore +2; Society -1 Qualities Academic, Darkvision, Rumormongering Citizens Danger 5 Government Autocracy Population 2,400 (1,300 Drow, 700 Elf, 200 Dwarf, 100 Gnome, 100 other) Notable NPCs Mediator Geswil Aoth LN Female Drow Oracle 9 Grand Matron Ilsanna Salduris LE Female Drow Cleric of Nasquba 12 High Mage Malthin Cadel TN Male Elf Arcanist 13 Apprentice Aislin Mella TN Female Drow Sorcerer 7 Archivist Verlin Dulant NE Male Drow Occultist 10 Captain of the Guard Nadriel Salduris LG Female Elf Magus 8 Marketplace Base Value 2000 gp; Purchase Limit 10000 gp; Spellcasting 6th Minor Items 3d4; Medium Items 2d4; Major Items 1d4 Caruspan is something of an oddity, an enclave where drow and elf have managed to co-exist in peace for generations. Its legacy hearkens to the Cinderback invasion that shattered the northern lands and broke kingdoms. The elven kingdom of Nurisca was one of the few with the might to resist, but it could not protect every enclave of elven civilization in the north and many - including Caruspan - were forced to fend for themselves against an onslaught of fire and death. It was in this seemingly hopeless battle that a strange alliance was forged between elf and drow. Alone they would have surely been destroyed, but together their arcane and divine magic was sufficient to withstand their assailants. For seventeen years they fought a constant battle against an overwhelming siege force, parts of the city being lost and reclaimed. When the siege finally broke Nurisca was in a steep decline and Caruspan would need to ensure its own security in a land gripped by anarchy. What began as a short-term alliance of necessity became a long-term pact, and as centuries and generations of elvenkind passed it became a permanent fixture of Caruspan. The ancient pact of Caruspan is elaborately complex, as compromises and accommodations were made to consistently maintain the precarious balance in the early days of the alliance. Among other things it requires such things as the Grand Matron of the Drow to adopt a full-blooded elf into her house and for the Archmage of Caruspan to have at least one Drow apprentice. Most importantly is the appointment of the Mediator, chosen through an obtuse electoral process. To be elected a candidate must win at least half the votes from both the Drow population and the Elven population, essentially giving both groups veto power over any candidate they dislike. Although an election for the office of Mediator is helf every seventeen years, most Mediators are re-elected consistently for well over a century and there have only been nine in the nearly one-thousand year history of the pact. The current Mediator is Geswin Aoth, currently on her ninth consecutive term. She was disowned by her own noble house and left a commoner in her youth, but politically this made her quite popular with her house's enemies while giving her the opportunity to make inroads with the non-drow elves. After years of showing herself to be a fair and impartial Mediator, her continued re-election has been a forgone conclusion. In the early days of Caruspan the majority population was a moderate elven majority, but the passing of generations has seen the drow population grow. At a glance the drow appear to outnumber the elves two-to-one, but in truth the drow are divided in two: the "pure-bloods" of full drow heritage, and the "mix-bloods" who are descended of a mixed union. Many of the pure-blood drow muse about taking full control of the settlement and implementing traditional drow rule, but this would leave the mixed-blood elves as second-class citizens at best and they would never stand for it. As such, the pact of Caruspan remains sacrosanct. The drow houses constantly play power games against each other, jockeying to appoint the next Matron. However, the pact of Caruspan prevents the houses from assassinating or outright eliminating their rivals and thus they must resort to more subtle methods. Despite this, Grand Matrons change much more frequently than Mediators. Moreover, the adoption rule put in place centuries ago has changed the rank and file of the most powerful houses. While adopting a single elf was regarded as a token gesture, after nearly fifty different Matrons having been appointed and the passing of generations this has created a severe problem for those families obsessed with purity. The current Grand Matron is Ilsanna Salduris, who is the Matron of House Salduris. They are the largest and most powerful of the Drow houses. She came to power by revealing that her predecessor as in fact a mix-blood. While being 1/32nd elf isn't a complete disqualifier from the office of Matron in Caruspan, it did cause key allies to defect. Ilsanna herself cares about bloodline purity only insofar as it is politically expedient to do so, which requires a careful balancing act between the large number of talented mixed blood family members and ensuring at least some branches of the family remain pure to maintain diplomatic relations with the more purist-minded houses. Upon becoming Grand Matron she had to adopt an elf into her family, and chose the captain of the guard Nadriel. Again, this was a matter of political expedience as rumors of Nadriel's romance with the son of another prominent drow house were already circulating. Neither Ilsanna nor Nadriel are particularly fond of each other but the arrangement gets them both what they want. Nadriel was already in a relationship with the son of another drow house, but marriage with a political impossibility. By being adopted into House Salduris, their marriage would appear to merely be a political deal brokered by Ilsanna as part of the adoption tradition. Caruspan has a long history of arcane study, and although the original mages who fought in the Cinderback invasion are long dead their libraries remain. The town's economy consists almost entirely off of the trade of magical services and items. Archeologists interested in that period often visit as well, as many scars of the war are still born as marks of pride by Caruspan. The Archmage of Caruspan is still a highly respected title, and although the position is not strictly held by an elf but the pact of Caruspan does require that the archmage not be a member of a drow house, requiring any noble drow wishing for the office of Archmage to first denounce their noble title, a step few are willing to take. Currently there is no debate, Malthin Cadel is beyond all doubt the most skilled master of the arcane arts in Caruspan and thus no drow is considered a candidate for the position. His chosen apprentice is Aislin Mella, daughter of the previous Grand Matron. Aislin's political future has been crushed by the revelation of her mother's - and by extension, her own - lineage, and she sees continued study in the arcane as the only path she has left if she is to claim her birthright control over her own house from her cousins. Category:Location Category:Settlement Category:North Category:Large town Category:Made by Dasrak